FootGolf: The sport mixing football passion with golf logic is booming in Argentina

FootGolf is enjoying its peak in Argentina, with over 5,000 players and a growing circuit across eight regions. This sport, which merges the passion of football with the precision of golf, has evolved from a casual game among friends into a professional structure. Players trade football jerseys for polo shirts but retain the intense focus on striking the ball.

"It's a sport that mixes impulse and passion on one hand, with logic and analysis on the other," says Alejo Mendive, Technical Director of the Argentine National Team. "For those who have played football, golf, or both, it becomes addictive because it's about reformulating the skills you bring from football and adapting them to the minimal movement and contact of golf."

Patricio Lahitou, Sports Director of the Argentine FootGolf Association (AAFG) and a national team player, describes the discipline as a blend of the world's most popular and most elite sports. "It removes all the advantages and problems of football and brings it to the peace of a golf course," he explains. Lahitou discovered the sport in 2011 through a TV program and has been hooked ever since.

Formally born in the Netherlands in 2009, FootGolf arrived in Argentina in 2010. Its growth has been exponential, with a strong presence in various regions. The epicenter is in Pilar, at the Los Álamos Golf Club, considered the "home" of the Association, where games are held weekly. Other key locations include Club Ferrocarril Mitre in San Martín, Smithfield in Zárate, Campo Grande, Hebraica, and Ituzaingó Golf Club.

The Argentina Open, one of the world's six Majors, takes place at Las Praderas Golf Course in Luján, attracting over 200 players and significant international participation. The Professional League Grand Final is often held at Pilar Golf, a high-caliber venue. Despite this infrastructure, much of it is privately owned and "borrowed." The focus is now shifting towards developing dedicated facilities, with the long-delayed 18-hole course at Parque Indoamericano in Villa Soldati symbolizing this ambition.